Interrupting Hate in Public Spaces

Lewis & Clark Graduate School, South Chapel

The vast majority of us agree that we must ensure the safety of our communities. Yet, we are living in a moment when public vitriol is skyrocketing and tensions flare at a moment’s notice. While almost every other city in the nation has seen an increase of 20% in hate incidents from 2016 to 2017, Portland has seen an increase of 200%, with Oregon leading the nation in hate incidents per capita.

This workshop will provide a theoretically grounded practical opportunity to successfully address this crisis. Using tools and methodologies proven over decades from the foundational text: Training Active Bystanders by Dr. Ervin Staub, we will build a culture of peace, welcome, mutual appreciation and love by learning and engaging in active non-violence.

Participants will leave confident of their ability to support and empower targets by:

Identifying and tapping into the skills, experiences and values they already have to support their neighbors more effectively

Identifying, understanding and overcoming what inhibits them from becoming active bystanders

Learning and practicing specific tactics for interrupting verbal hate in public, centering the experience of the target and empowering the target to create safety for themselves

We are committed to making our events accessible to all needs and abilities. When registering, let us know your access needs. To discuss your access needs before registering, please contact us at 503-768-6040 or cce@lclark.edu.

About the Presenter

Rabbi Debra Kolodny, JD, is a veteran of several social justice movements. She has been bringing a spiritual perspective, activist passion and an intersectional lens to racial and economic justice, women’s, peace environmental and LGBTQ causes since 1981. She has taught on this topic throughout Oregon to over 500 people since January 2017. She has also taught in hundreds of venues on dozens of topics, organized retreat programming and produced ground-breaking conferences. Additionally, she has been published on blog sites, newspapers, magazines and anthologies, and has been interviewed on radio and television.

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